RIL may exit most international oil and gas blocks

Mukesh-Ambani owned Reliance Industries plans to tweak its international business strategy by exiting almost all international oil and gas blocks, reports CNBC TV 18.

The energy giant owns seven exploration assets including two each in Peru, Yemen, Columbia and one in Australia . The company has acreages in areas which fall in 'no-contact' region, which would make exploration activities difficult, sources told CNBC-TV18.

Reuters

In a move to reduce its exposure to overseas exploration, the company wants to retain only a few of its exploration assets as overseas blocks typically need a lot of exploration to start production.

Meanwhile, rating agency CLSA has said production ramp-ups, capacity expansion, higher gas prices and an aggressive buyback programme could boost Reliance industries' performance. The brokerage has upgraded RIL to outperform with a 12-month target price of Rs 850.

It, however, cautioned that near-term earning momentum looks weak, but at the same time, it sees doubling of Ebitda over five years to $13 billion and a 15% CAGR in net profit which will drive 3 percentage point expansion in returns on equities.